asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development, in view of the disproportionately heavy development and consequential growth of population in the south and south-east of the United Kingdom despite the steps Her Majesty's Government have already taken to encourage growth in other regions, if he will now consider what further steps are desirable to strengthen the previous schemes in order to achieve a more even spread of growth over the country as a whole.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. and learned Member for Aberdeen (Mr. Hector Hughes) on 23rd April.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development if he will estimate the ratios of completions to approvals in industrial building in the London and South-East Region and in Scotland, respectively, for the years from and including 1959, taking approvals as 100.

The figures for which the hon. Member has asked are given below, but there is no meaningful relation between approvals and completions because the lapse of time between the two varies considerably.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development whether he will refer to the Monopolies Commission the electric lighting industry, in view of the proposed merger of Thorn Electrical Industries and Associated Electrical Industries.

I shall bear the hon. Member's suggestion in mind when I consider further references to the Commission.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development, in view of the fact that in the South-West percentage increases in employees and net migration were second only to those in the South-East, what steps he proposes to take to create conditions which would enable an increase in the average earnings in the area.

Average weekly earnings of male manual workers in the South-West, as covered by the Ministry of Labour earnings inquiry, have increased by 23 per cent. in the past three-and-a-half years. This is a higher increase than the national average.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development what are his proposals for extending Commonwealth preference in the United Kingdom to all developing countries; and whether he has discussed the proposals with other Commonwealth Governments.

Her Majesty's Government are prepared to extend tariff preferences to all developing countries subject to the following conditions; first, that all other major industrialised countries will do so; secondly, that those Commonwealth countries which have guaranteed preferences in our market are prepared to agree to share them with developing countries; and, thirdly, that new preferences are created not by raising most-favoured-nation rates, but by lowering or abolishing duties on imports from developing countries. The answer to the last part of the Question is "Yes".

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development what estimate he has made of the present amount of United Kingdom imports from non-Common-wealth developing countries which would be freed from tariffs under the proposals he put forward in his speech at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development; and how much trade from Commonwealth developing countries would be freed from tariffs by other industrial countries under the proposed reciprocal arrangements.

No useful estimate can at this stage be made of the trade involved since the products to be the subject of preferences and the level of the preferential rates would be for international consultation. We should have to be satisfied that developing Commonwealth countries received advantages in other markets to compensate them for sharing with other developing countries their preferences in Britain.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development, in view of paragraph 107 of the White Paper on the North-East, which says that the North-East will have much more to offer to the tourist as modernisation gets under way with communications and amenities what improvements of this nature have hem effected in Teesdale since the issue of the Report or are now planned.

We are not planning to make improvements in Teesdale itself, which already has much to offer the tourist. But a great deal is being done to improve communications in and to the North-East and this will make its tourist areas more accessible.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development, in view of paragraph 108 of the White Paper on the North-East, which says that an effort should be made to attract a greater number of visitors by the construction and modernisation of more hotels, what plans are in existence, and what Government assistance has been given, for such construction in the Bishop Auckland constituency.

I am not aware of any plans for constructing and modernising hotels in the Bishop Auckland con- stituency. No application for assistance under the Local Employment Acts has yet been made.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development whether he will institute proceedings against the following companies, namely, Various Tenancies Ltd., Various Tenancies (South London) Ltd., Various Tenancies (Four) Ltd., and Various Tenancies (Pollock & Deacon) Ltd., for failure to comply with the provisions of the Companies Acts.

Inquiries are in progress which I hope will show whether it would be appropriate to institute proceedings.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development what consultations have been held with representatives of farmers and farmworkers on proposals for the fixing of August Bank Holiday.

The Government's decision in this, matter was taken after careful consideration of all the views expressed by interested parties, including an objection put forward by the National Farmers' Union in 1961.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development whether he is aware of the deterioration in the employment situation in Alva, Clackmannanshire, and the need for replacement of former industry by new enterprise; and what action he is taking to attract new industry to the area.

I am aware that four firms have closed factories in Alva recently. One is to be re-opened shortly by an Edinburgh firm. Details of the others are being obtained and the information will be available to interested industrialists.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development whether he has now approved the building of a further advance factory for The Hartlepools.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development whether he will make a statement about the building of further advance factories.

Following the visits which I have paid to the regions in the past few months, and in pursuance of the Government's policies for regional development, I have now decided that nine further advance factories (in addition to that for the Falmouth area which I announced on 27th February) should be built, as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development what information he has about new anti-dumping regulations proposed by the United States Treasury concerning imports of British steel; and what similar protective regulations he proposes for this country.

The United States Treasury have published draft amendements to the American antidumping regulations which apply to imports of all goods from all sources. Sixty days are allowed for comment on these regulations and my officials are studying them urgently; we have reservations about a number of features. For our part, we already have powers under the Customs Duties (Dumping and Subsidies) Act 1957.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development if the Whitchurch Toll Bridge Company, the Whitney Bridge Trust, and the Selby Bridge Company are registered under the terms of the Registration of Business Names Act, 1916; and whether he will publish the details required to be given under that Act.

None of these names is registered. I am advised that the first and third, as names used by bodies incorporated by private Acts of Parliament, do not require to be registered. If the inquiries I am making about the Whitney Bridge Trust show that it should be registered, the details will be made available to the public by the Registrar of Business Names in the ordinary way.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development whether he is aware of the growing practice of placing forward orders for large quantities of cotton textiles in countries with no traditional trade with the United Kingdom; and what action he proposes to take in view of the effects of this practice not only upon the British cotton textile industry but also upon the agreements which he has made with Commonwealth and other supplying countries to limit their exports to the United Kingdom.

Yes. I have observed this development with concern. I have felt obliged to introduce certain changes in the import licensing procedure designed to provide information about the placing of forward contracts and to enable the Board of Trade to keep an effective watch on the trend of imports from new sources of supply. In future, therefore, specific import licences will be required for all imports of cotton textiles except those from our Dependent Territories and certain traditional suppliers or those which are subject to limitation agreements with the exporting countries concerned.This change in procedure does not indicate any change in policy. Licences will be issued freely unless imports from any country affected are increasing in such a way that Her Majesty's Government find it necessary to request that country to exercise restraint on the basis of the G.A.T.T. Long Term Arrangement.

asked the Secretary for Technical Co-operation how many British officers are serving on Special List A in Nigeria.

Fifty-three.

asked the Secretary for Technical Co-operation what progress is being made with the application from the Government of Kenya for assistance in obtaining the services of 12 veterinary surgeons, which was first made in June 1963.

In June, 1963, my Department had only three outstanding vacan-

asked the Secretary for Technical Co-operation, following the visit of the Northern Rhodesian Minister of Health, how many British sister-tutors he expects to recruit for the new training school for nurses at Kitwe.

Northern Rhodesia have asked us to supply two sister-tutors, and I shall give these posts high priority. Sister-tutors are particularly

asked the Secretary for Technical Co-operation if he will give an estimate of the percentages of overseas students in colleges of advanced technology in England and Wales.

The percentage in all Colleges in England and Wales on 1st November, 1963 was 7·6. The percentages for each of the 11 Colleges are as follows:difficult to recruit for overseas service and only four have been found in the last 12 months.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will authorise local authorities to continue payment of salaries during leave of absence to teachers chosen to represent their county in international sporting events held in countries overseas.

Local authorities already have discretion to decide these matters for themselves and my right hon. Friend's authority is not required.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received from the University of Wales Extra-Mural Department concerning adult education classes in 1964–65; what reply he has sent; and whether he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend has received no representations from the University of Wales Extension Board, nor from the departments of extra-mural studies at the four university colleges.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science by what date he expects to be able to increase Government grants to the Workers Education Association and to other voluntary bodies of adult education, above the level to be granted this year.

My right hon. Friend cannot yet forecast what grants he will be able to include in the Estimates for 1965–66.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he is aware that many parents do not know that pupils may leave at the end of the spring term or at the end of the summer term, depending on the date of their birthday; and whether, as many parents believe that their children can leave after they have attained the age of 15 years and do not have to wait until the end of terms, he will give full publicity in schools to the position under the Education Acts.

I had thought the steps taken to make known the changes introduced by the Education Act, 1962, had been effective, but I am glad to take this opportunity to restate the position. If a child reaches the school leaving age in the five months September to January, inclusive, he should stay at school till the following Easter holidays; if he reaches it in February to August, inclusive, he must stay till the summer holidays in the same year.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the total sum paid to the Bristol Education Authority for the education service since 1957.

Education grant paid to Bristol Education Authority for 1957–58 and 1958–59 amounted to £3,311,599 and £3,544,706, respectively. From 1959–60 Exchequer aid to local education authorities has been given through the general grant and it is not possible to apportion that grant to individual services.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many students live in at the Sheffield City Training College; and how many of them are foreign students.

There are 581 students living in at the Sheffield City Training College of whom two come from Commonwealth countries. There are no foreign students.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many students are at the Sheffield City Training College; and how many of these students are from countries outside the United Kingdom.

There are 800 students at the Sheffield City Training College, of whom 34 are from countries outside the United Kingdom.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many women medical students were at universities in the years 1961, 1962, and 1963, respectively; and what is the estimated figure for 1964.

There were 2,927 women medical students in universities in the academic years 1961–62, 3,021 in 1962–63 and 3,044 in the current year. It is too early to give an estimated figure for 1964–65, but I have no reason to expect that the increase shown in the previous years will not be maintained.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what progress has been made in the efforts to discover a practical method of creating power by fusion; and whether research is still proceeding.

Research in this field is centred on the Atomic Energy Authority's new laboratory at Culham. Progress has been made in the understanding of plasma behaviour, in the various methods of containing plasma by magnetic fields and in the scientific and technological problems involved. A fuller account is given in the authority's Ninth Annual Report.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is his estimate of the future trend of the costs of enriched uranium used in boiling water nuclear reactors as a result of the cut-back in production of this fuel announced by the major powers.

I understand that the United States Atomic Energy Commission has stated that its objective is to maintain stable prices for enriched uranium. I have received no information on the effect of the recently announced cut-back in production for military purposes on the future trend of United States' prices for enriched uranium.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will give the latest comparisons that have been made by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, other official bodies, or by international bodies of which Great Britain is a member, between research expenditure by industry in Great Britain and in the United States of America, in terms of expenditure per employee, and also as a percentage of net output.

No official comparisons have been made in that form. The Advisory Council for Scientific Policy compared total national expenditure on research and development in the United Kingdom with that in the United States in their Annual Report for 1961–62. There are uncertainties about this comparison but the Council estimated that the proportion of the gross national product devoted to research and development in 1961–62 was 2·7 per cent. in this country as against 2·9 per cent. in the U.S.A.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he is taking to enable electors in the urban district of Potters Bar to vote in elections and by-elections for the Hertfordshire County Council.

I have asked the Hertfordshire County Council to publish proposals for the division of Potters Bar into electoral divisions for the election of councillors to the county council. If objections are made against the proposals, I shall appoint an independent barrister to hold a local inquiry and report to me. Provisions to give effect to my decision will be included in an order under Section 84 of the London Government Act, 1963. The intention is to provide for special elections to be held so that Potters Bar can be represented on the county council from 1st April, 1965, when it becomes part of Hertfordshire.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will be ready to introduce legislation to bring up to date the maximum penalties for offences.

I assume that the hon. Member is referring to the review of small statutory fines which my Department has been conducting in consultation with others. Considerable progress has been made in this laborious and detailed task, involving examination of a large number of statutes and a wide variety of offences. I cannot at present say in which Session it will be possible to introduce legislation, but we are pressing on.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements are made for recording their vote in a British General Election, in the case of the following categories of persons and their wives, working in the German Federal Republic, namely, British Service personnel constituting forces mainly assigned to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, British civilians attached to those forces and British civilians working directly for the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, respectively.

Members of the forces, and their wives if residing outside the United Kingdom in order to be with their husbands, are eligible to be registered as service voters and to vote by proxy. The voting position of the other categories mentioned depends on whether or not they are "Crown servants" for purposes of electoral law. If they are, they and their wives are eligible to be registered under the service voters provisions. If they are not, they will be able to vote by proxy only if they have satisfied the registration officer that they are entitled to be treated as absent voters by reason of the general nature of their occupation, service or employment; wives accompanying them will not necessarily be able to do the same.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he is taking on the recommendation of the Working Party on Legal Aid in Criminal Proceedings that there should be a general review of the arrangements for providing legal aid in criminal proceedings.

I have appointed a Departmental Committee with the following terms of reference:"To examine and report on the arrangements and machinery for providing legal aid in criminal proceedings."

asked the Minister of Power what further consultation he has had with the Gas Council and the Electricity Board regarding methods of fixing a tariff for the resale of gas and electricity through private meters in premises in multiple occupation.

Though consultation has continued, my right hon. Friend is satisfied that the existing arrangements under which Gas Boards fix resale prices are satisfactory; as regards electricity, I have nothing to add to my reply on 13th February, 1964, to the hon. Member for Dorset, South (Mr. Barnett).

asked the Minister of Power what in pence per kilowatt hour is his estimate of the capital charges, running costs and combined costs, respectively, of the Fawley oil-fired power station, the Aberthaw B coal-fired power station, the Wylfa nuclear power station, an advanced gas-cooled reactor station and a boiler-water reactor station of the specification for which the Central Electricity Generating Board has been authorised to invite tenders; and what the estimate would be in each case if the assumed rate of interest on capital costs were 3 per cent.

The Generating Board's estimates are as follows:

asked the Minister of Power what estimates he has made of the contribution to be made to the power needs of the country by coal and oil during the period of the second nuclear power programme.

By 1975 power station requirements for coal and oil may be of the order of 130 million tons of coal equivalent a year.

asked the Minister of Power if he will detail the number of applications he has received under Section 1 of the Pipe-Lines Act, 1962, covering the conveyance of liquids and industrial gases, and the number of notifications made under Section 2.

I have received five applications under Section 1 and forty-two notifications under Section 2.

asked the Minister of Power if he will state what use has been made of his powers under Sections 11 and 12 of the Pipe-Lines Act, 1962, relating to the compulsory purchase of land and of rights for pipe-line construction and the number of orders made thereunder.

None.

asked the Minister of Power if he will state what use has so far been made of his powers under Sections 9 and 10 of the Pipe-Lines Act, 1962, and the number of notices made there-under.

None.

asked the Postmaster-General if he is aware of the growing practice of the British Broadcasting Corporation and independent television companies of inviting Ministers to make statements on Government policy on new Bills and White Papers; and, in view of the public's desire to hear all points of view, if he will introduce legislation to require the British Broadcasting Corporation and the Independent Television Authority to offer opportunities to representatives of opposition parties equivalent to those offered to Ministers.

It is the responsibility of the B.B.C. and of the I.T.A. to ensure impartiality in controversial subjects. The appearance of Ministers in programmes such as the hon. Gentleman describes are not regard as party political broadcasting. Their primary purpose is to inform.

asked the Postmaster-General (1) what is the ratio of shared domestic telephone lines to total domestic telephone lines in Northern Ireland; and how this compares with each of the past five years;(2) what is the number of domestic telephone subscribers in Northern Ireland who now have shared lines; and how this compares with each of the preceding five years.

The figures are:

asked the Postmaster-General what was the number of public telephones in the area of the South Antrim parliamentary constituency on the 1st January, 1959, and 1st January, 1964, respectively; and what is the present cost of installing a public telephone kiosk in this area.

The numbers are 153 and 167, respectively.The cost of installing a kiosk varies with local circumstances but, in the South Antrim area, the average capital cost, including the cost of the line and exchange equipment, is about £360.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs which local planning authorities have so far submitted for his confirmation the first quinquennial revisions of their development plans; and in respect of which of them he has so far taken action.

The following are the details:

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs which local planning authorities have not submitted initial development plans for his confirmation; and what proportion of development plans so far submitted have been confirmed by him.

All local planning authorities have submitted development plans and all have been approved.

asked the Prime Minister if he will appoint a Committee of Ministers to study the implications for government employees of the recent decisions in the High Court in the cases of Dudfield v. Ministry of Works and Faithful v. Admiralty.

No.

asked the Prime Minister what proposals for increasing aid to the developing countries he will put before the forthcoming Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference; and what additional contribution in money and manpower is being planned by the United Kingdom Government.

I do not think it would be right for me to disclose in advance any proposals which I might have it in mind to put before my Commonwealth colleagues.

asked the Minister of Aviation if, in view of the test ban treaty, he will make a statement on the kind of nuclear explosive system which Her Majesty's Government will now develop for use in Polaris missile warheads.

I would refer the hon. Member to the Answer I gave yesterday to similar Questions on this subject.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that there is a high incidence of toxocara canis in domestic animals and a resultant infec- tion of babies and young children which causes blindness and jaundice; and what preventive steps he will take to deal with this problem.

Yes. Steps are being taken to draw attention to the risk and to the precautions that should be taken.

asked the Minister of Health when he expects to publish the 1964 Revision of the Hospital Plan.

Tomorrow.

asked the Minister of Labour what information he has been given by the National Coal Board regarding reductions in coalmining manpower in Twechar, Croy, Dullatur and Kirkintilloch during the past five years; what further run-down is proposed; and what steps he is taking, in consultation with the National Coal Board, to ensure alternative employment for those displaced.

I understand that the numbers employed in coalmining in this area declined from 3,672 at the end of 1958 to 1,955 at the end of 1963. Future employment in coalmining in this locality will depend on a number of factors including the growth of productivity and the demand for coal. The National Coal Board will do everything possible to find alternative employment for any coalminers who might be displaced and the full facilities of our Department will continue to be available to any who seek our help. The number of men formerly employed in coalmining registered as unemployed on 13th April at the employment exchanges of Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch was 36 and 20.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much of the Profits Tax collected in the financial year 1963–64 was paid by co-operative societies and how much by companies; and what he estimates the amounts would have been if the effective rates and methods of charging Profits Tax had been those applicable in 1951.

Co-operative Societies paid about £2¾ million and companies about £385 million in 1963–64. If the 1951 rates of Profits Tax (after deducting Income Tax at 9s. 6d. in the £) were applied to the same figures of profits, capital allowances and distributions the corresponding figures would be about £2½ million and about £400 million.